PDP seeks comprehensive agriculture development strategy for JK

New Delhi,August 16, (Scoop News)- Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sought the intervention of the Government of India for formulating a comprehensive agriculture development strategy for Jammu and Kashmir to enhance productivity and returns in this crucial sector concerning almost 80 percent of the State’s population.
PDP President and Member Parliament, Ms Mehbooba Mufti called on the Union Agriculture Minister, Radha Mohan Singh and raised the issues confronting the agriculture and horticulture sectors in the State. She was accompanied by senior PDP leader and Member Parliament, Tariq Hameed Karra.
Ms Mufti informed the Minister that the horticulture sector in J&K, which provides livelihood to more than 7 lakh families and nearly 35 lakh people, is in the throes of crisis as the two crucial sectors, which used to be the mainstay of State economy, are now not able to provide basic subsistence and sustenance to the people.
“Although more than 75 percent of the country’s apple production is from J&K with almost 90,000 acres of land in Kashmir are under apple cultivation., unfortunately, during the past few years not only has the production plummeted, the input costs have increased much more than the returns. With squeezing margins and low production the business model of this crucial sector has virtually collapsed,” she told the Minister.
She said the sheer size and scale of horticulture and its significance, not just in the local economy but even nationally, should wake up the government to the incipient crisis.
Mehbooba said considering the growth potential of this sector, the government should plan for higher production and productivity of major cereals and fruit to achieve an annual agricultural growth rate of 3-4 percent.
She called for devising both short and long term strategy to put the agriculture and horticulture sectors back on track. In the short term, she said, there is need for a package to give relief in the form of income support to the growers while in the long term, there is need for an orchard replantation and restructuring scheme.
“As such, the Centre and State governments must design a ‘Relief, Restructure and Replant’ scheme for horticulture and agriculture sectors,” she said and added that in addition to a financial package, there is need for technological and scientific interventions like setting up of soil and pesticide testing laboratories in each district, making SKUAST more vibrant and familiarizing farmers with latest technological advances in the field.
She called for increasing the area under the horticulture regeneration scheme from the existing 2000 hectares to 10000 hectares in the State with funding to be raised from existing Rs 30000 to Rs 1 lakh per hectare. She also called for redefining the Saffron Mission scheme in J&K with more focus on irrigation and market intervention so that the growers not only are able to cultivate good crop but also get good returns.
Mehbooba also called for shifting the agriculture development strategy from food security mode to the value addition mode by growing certain products like high value fruits, vegetables and some cash crops which can give good returns to the cultivators.
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